(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's foreign exchange reserves grew for the first time in three months to USD 1.277 trillion at the end of January, up USD 10.24 billion from the previous month, the Finance Ministry said Friday
The foreign reserves remained the world's second-largest after China's
The increase was mainly attributed to valuation gains in the government's holdings of US Treasuries, which were affected by lower long-term interest rates in the US, the ministry said in a statement. A rise in gold prices also helped inflate Japan's reserves
Japan's foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in foreign currencies plus the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions, IMF special drawing rights and gold
As of January 31, foreign currency reserves stood at USD 1.211 trillion, IMF reserves at USD 14.27 billion, IMF special drawing rights at USD 20.05 billion and gold at USD 30.78 billion
The country's reserves are closely monitored for evidence of how authorities are managing vast foreign currency holdings, as the actions have significant impact on currency exchange rates and global bond markets, particularly in the US government bond market
The authorities did not intervene in currency markets to stem the yen's rise after spending JPY 9.09 trillion (USD 90.9 billion) in the final quarter of 2011. Japan is the only country with foreign reserves of more than USD 1 trillion besides China, whose holdings hit a record of USD 3.82 trillion at the end of December, according to the latest comparable data.
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